On March 15, 1972, The Godfather hit movie screens. In the four decades since, it has become acknowledged as one of the greatest movies of all time. TIME has compiled the most interesting stories, anecdotes and tidbits from the film's production

There Are Very Few Unorthodox Camera Shots

Cinematographer Gordon Willis had a very traditional eye. As he said to film writer Peter Biskind in 1997, “It was a tableau movie, meaning there weren’t a lot of contemporary mechanics introduced, like helicopters and a zoom lens.” But Francis Ford Coppola was able to persuade him to stray from his philosophy for several scenes, including the opening slow zoom backward, the slow zoom in on Michael as he plans to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey, and the god’s-eye shot of Don Corleone being gunned down. When Willis pushed back against Coppola, asking whose point of view was being represented by the high-up shot, Coppola responded, “My point of view, God’s point of view, Orson Welles’ point of view!”

There is no 'Long Beach Causeway' unless it is a fictional place invented for the movie. There is a Jones Beach Causeway, which has a toll booth that happens to look exactly like the setting of the shooting.